OEA Supports Resolution to Disapprove A-F Grading System Rules

The Oklahoma
Education Association will speak in support of a resolution to disapprove rules
for the A-F Grading System tomorrow during the House Administrative Rules and
Government Oversight Committee.

Association
leaders said the entire system is not transparent and the information does not
provide a fair assessment of schools.

“We believe
the public should know how our schools are doing. The purpose of any
accountability system should be to improve teaching and learning so that all
students can reach challenging standards,” Oklahoma Education Association
President Linda Hampton said.

Hampton, a 34-year
teaching veteran, said the rules for the A-F grading system are just another
way to label and punish students and schools, instead of providing the
resources and the support schools really need in order to achieve higher
standards.

Opponents of
the new A-F grading system said there has been a school accountability system
in place for many years that is accessible and easy to read for parents.

“Our children
are more than just a test score or a letter grade. We should be spending our
time and resources on ways to improve schools, not duplicate accountability
systems,” Hampton said.

The Office of
Accountability has provided a school report card since HB 1017 passed in 1990
that overhauled public schools.

The report
can be accessed at www.schoolreportcard.org.
The report gives parents customized and individualized information by testing
subject and by grade level.

“A
complicated computation of an A-F grading system does not provide parents with
the transparent information they need to make an informed decision about their
child’s education,” Hampton said.